Player ratings: Fully blossomed
Trailing by two points at the break, the Brave Blossoms lived up to their nickname as they kept themselves within touching distance of the two-time champions to steal the victory with a try of the final hooter.
However, it was their excellent work rate on defence that gave them the upperhand and allowed fullback Ayumu Goromaru to kick them to victory.
Tauriq Ebrahim rates the Japanese players!
15 Ayumu Goromaru
Contributed 24 points but it was his calm demeanour and excellent awareness of the situation that made him stand out.
9/10
14 Akihito Yamada
Did not have plenty of attacking opportunities but performed admirably on defence.
6/10
13 Male Sa'u
Racked up some good metres but was outstanding on defence to stop the Springboks in their tracks.
6/10
12 Harumichi Tatekawa
Stood up impressively under the constant runs of his opposite number and remained very disciplined throughout the encounter.
6/10
11 Kotaro Matsushima
Tore the Springbok defence apart with his mesmerising runs and excellent skills under the high ball.
8/10
10 Kosei Ono
Ran the show like a seasoned pro as he gave his backline plenty of quality service but it was his high defensive work rate that really impressed.
7/10
9 Fumiaki Tanaka
The nippy scrumhalf continued his impressive Super Rugby form and provided quick, high quality service for the players around him.
7/10
8 Hendrik Tui
High work rate on defence helped him stop the Springboks at every opportunity.
6/10
7 Michael Broadhurst
Put in some hard tackles and was an absolute menace at the breakdowns.
7/10
6 Michael Leitch (captain)
Led from the front with strong carries and a high tackle count to set the tone for the rest of the team to follow.
7/10
5 Hitoshi Ono
Did what he needed to on defence as he attempted to get the better of his opposite number.
5/10
4 Luke Thompson
Maintained a very high work rate for the entire 80 minutes and he just never gave up on defence.
7/10
3 Kensuke Hatakeyama
Did not offer as much as he would have liked but he certainly held his own at scrum time.
5/10
2 Shota Horie
Had some powerful carries that complemented his excellent tackle count to outshine his opposite number.
6/10
1 Masataka Mikami
Not the best outing in terms of carries but played his part in defence and at scrum time.
5/10
Replacements:
16 Takeshi Kizu (on for S Horie, 70th min)
Not enough time to be rated
17 Keita Inagaki (on for M Mikami, 58th min)
Picked up where Mikami left off and just carried on in the same manner.
5/10
18 Hiroshi Yamashita (on for K Hatakeyama, 54th min)
Held his own on defence but had no chances to display his ball carrying ability.
4/10
19 Shinya Makabe (on for H Ono, 54th min)
Had a few carries that made very little metres but still contributed to the defensive discipline.
4/10
20 Amanaki Mafi (on for H Tui, 46th min)
Made a massive impact off the bench as he controlled the ball nicely at the back of the scrums and made some big carries.
7/10
21 Atsushi Hiwasa (on for F Tanaka, 67th min)
Not enough time to be rated
22 Yu Tamura
Not used
23 Karne Hesketh (on for A Yamada, 79th min)
Scored the late try to seal the victory but was not on the park long enough to be rated.
